Northern Trust Corp Boosts Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,426,394 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 755,893 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,047,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its stake in Zoetis by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. VeraBank N.A. boosted its stake in Zoetis by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $768,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 420 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on ZTS. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays upped their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.40.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $153.78 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $158.84 and its 200 day moving average is $168.07. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.70 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.61 billion, a PE ratio of 28.11, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.56%.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Zoetis Company Profile

Zoetis Inc engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products and services in the United States and internationally. The company commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep and others; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.